October 23, 2008

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The Alys Stephens Center presents Pilobolus Dance Theatre at 2:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 15, at the Alys Stephens Center, 1200 10th Ave. S., Birmingham. This show may contain nudity. Tickets are $75, $55, $45 and $35; students $20. Call 205-975-2787 or visit www.AlysStephens.org.

Audience members who saw Pilobolus at the Alys Stephens Center four years ago are still talking about the company's trademark weight sharing or "combined bodies" choreography. Their movie-themed human sculptures during the Academy Awards a few seasons ago introduced a whole new audience to the magic of Pilobolus.

Pilobolus (crystallinus) is a sun-loving fungus that grows in barnyards and pastures. A feisty little thing only 1/4 inch tall, it can throw its spores nearly eight feet - right over a cow. Pilobolus, the arts organism, germinated in the fertile soil of a Dartmouth College dance class in 1971. What emerged was a collaborative choreographic process and unique weight-sharing approach that gave the young company a nontraditional but powerful new set of skills with which to make dances.

Pilobolus is a tax-exempt, not-for-profit corporation, supported in part by funds from the Connecticut Commission on Culture and Tourism, by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts and by many other grants and trusts. The Pilobolus dancers are Matt Del Rosario, Andrew Herro, Jeffrey Huang, Jun Kuribayashi, Jenny Mendez, Annika Sheaff and Christopher Whitney. On the program are "Lanterna Magica," "Pseudopodia," "Razor: Mirror," "Ocellus" and "Megawatt."

This show is part of the Jemison Investment Co. Movement & Magic Series.  Sponsors are Jemison Investment Co., Alabama State Council on the Arts, The Birmingham News, UAB and Viva Health.